Lagunitas is expanding its beyond beer portfolio with an exciting new hard tea. Cutely named Disorderly TeaHouse, it will be introduced in two initial flavors – Yuzu Lemon and Mixed Up Berries – a mix of raspberry and blackberry. It rings in at a (fairly orderly) 5% ABV.
While the spiked and sparkling tea will not be on store shelves until 2022, legal drinking age (LDA) consumers can sample Disorderly TeaHouse now at Lagunitas’ Petaluma, California, brewpub.
The brewery made its name selling hoppy India pale ales (IPAs) that helped popularize the often strong and bitter beers. It is no surprise that they chose an equally distinct tea leaf in order to make their new hard drinks.
Disorderly TeaHouse is made from Ecuadorian guayusa tea, which is similar to yerba mate but with a less bitter taste. The brewing staff became a fan of that particular tea and started brainstorming ways to blend it with alcohol.
“We wanted to elevate it to have the Lagunitas spin on it,” said Paige Guzman, chief marketing officer for Lagunitas, regarding the burgeoning hard tea market. “This is a craft product by our brewers. Brewers are going to brew, whether they brew beer or they brew tea.”
So far the new drink has been a hit at the brewery’s Petaluma location. “We put it in the taproom and it started flying out,” Guzman said.
The brewery is planning a $4 million advertising and digital marketing campaign alongside the rollout that will focus specifically on its flagship IPA brands, as well as its increasingly popular non-alcoholic (NA) brews. “It’s a really big bet for us,” according to Guzman.
As part of Lagunitas innovative NA line, it released a cannabis infused drink through a collaboration with the Santa Rosa-based company CannaCraft. Sold exclusively as licensed marijuana dispensaries, it used the sparkling NA Hoppy Refresher as its base.
In 2020 it released IPNA, a deliciously hoppy NA IPA that quickly became the number two beer in its segment. Between the launch of its new hard tea, the growing NA line, and even cannabis infused drinks, the company is investing heavily in its beyond beer portfolio.
Lagunitas has breweries in Chicago and Seattle in addition to the original Petaluma location. The northern California based business was founded in 1993. The brewery helped to popularize the west coast IPA with new world hops, which grew in popularity along with the rise of craft beer.
Through brewing spiked and sparkling iced tea using guayusa tea leaves, Lagunitas found a way to craft a beer alternative that is unique to the company’s hoppy roots. We can’t wait to see what other distinct, original flavors the company has in store for its new line of hard tea.
The brewery also alternates between flavors of its DogTown Seltzer on tap in Petaluma – currently on tap is Raspberry Lemon, at a slightly stronger 6.2% ABV – will it follow Disorderly TeaHouse to the mass market next?
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